Desk and fan combination



Feb. 8, 1944. I w sp I 2,341,125

DESK AND FAN COMBINATION Filed Feb. 4, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I i9 34 36 2-20 :51 (a 24 34 g5 as i 45 V 16 24,./ 4 f H J a a WMG/Z 7 BY rm 1m Patented Feb. 8, 1944 2,341,125 DESK AND FAN COMBINA'I EON, Walter A. Spear, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to.

Victor, Electric Products, Ina, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio- Cincinnati,

Application February 4, 1942, Serial No.. 429,525..

Claims.

This invention relates; to a combined desk and fan and more particularly to the mounting of the fan in a desk so as to circulate air-for the benefit of the user of the desk Without disturbing the work upon the desk.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 301,192, filed October 25, 1939 for Desk and fan combination.

In hot weather and where the atmospheric conditions are bad for any reason, it may be necessary to circulate the air artificially. A common expedient. for doing so is the electric fan. An electric fan, however, does not usually fit in with the surroundings. This is evidenced by the use of shields. and covers for concealing the fans in public places and the like during the seasonthe fans are not used. Inoffices and other places where desks, are found, the fans may be sus pended from the ceiling, mounted on shelves, on, pedestals or on the 11.00 so as to circulate the air for the benefit of the occupants of the room. Generally when'the fans are mounted in any of these positions,v the. directed air is disturbing to... the occupant of the. desk. It. is-disturbing to the work upon the desk, in-that it has a tendency to blow papers and the like, which obviously is very annoying.

An object of this invention is to provide a desk fan combination whereby the fan circulates the air for the comfort of the occupant of a desk without disturbing the work.

Another object of this invention is to provide a desk fan combination wherein the fan is usedto circulate air which is directed upwardly over the lap of the occupant.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fan and battle arrangement, whereby the air is drawn from underneath the desk and circulated in a direction for the comfort of the. occupant. of the desk.

Another object of this invention is to provide a desk fan combination wherein the fan circulates the air outwardly through the knee compart ment of the desk,

Another object of this invention is to provide, an attachment for a desk for circulating air for the benefit. of the, occupant of. the desk, without materially disturbing the. work upon the desk...

Another object. of this invention is to provide a desk and fan combination provided with a passage located in the fore part-of the knee com partment for the circulation of air.

Another object of. thisinvention is to provide;

an air circulating deskthat iseasily produced and at the same time efiicient and dependable.

Anotherobjectiof this invention is to'provide a ccmbinedfan and bafliearrangement that may be incorporated into adeskfor directingair out:

Wardly from theknee compartment without dis turbingthe work upon the desk and. without..

mutilating the appearance of thedesk.

cealed from theiront thereot.

Other objec-ts and. advantages reside. in the; construction-- of; parts, the combination thereof and the mode,- of. operation-,- aswill become. more apparent from the.- followingdescription, I

In the drawings, Figure 1. is a:vertical cross sectional View of adesk incorporating-thepre ferredembodiment, taken substantially on the,

line. l-l of- Figure 2. V

Figure 2 is, arearelevational viewof a portion. I of, the desk looking in-to the-.-kneecompartment in the directionof-thefanshownin Figureflff Figure. 3. is. a transverse cross;- sectionalview; taken through theknee compartment of a .desk. .having a fan-permanently builtintothe desk;

so as to forma partthereof. v

Figure 4- discloses another modification-.wherepin the frontpanel. or wall-ofthe desk: hasbeen provided with an. air circulating opening; arranged in registry with a fanhoused; within thelmee:

compartment.

The desk disclosed, herein is. provided with. means for circulating; the air-through: the knee; compartment, so; as to. supply a breeze to the not; 'cupant of; the desk without disturbing; the; W rk: upon the desk. eliminates; the; unsightl-yg appearance of, circulating fans,,whether= they be;-v

the ceiling type,;the walltype, the desktype,

edestal or floor type, et cetera, inthat the-tan is completely concealed tromviewfrom theexe, terior of the desk.excepting-through the knee;

compartment.

. Referring pto the drawinga the:desk-top Waist supported upon. a plurality of front legs -|.2=,-and-; rear legs Hi. Along the front of the desk, f-rame.;

members Hi1. and. l8 arersupported by' the leg lfl.

A front panel-2D is, mounted in the frame-mem The-desk- :ma-schem efrommood; mete/ls c mp sit on th n ,o enis ii h m e a materia-L- used and "thesstructural.detailsaarezim material. In some types of desk, the knee compartment 22 may have the front thereof exposed, in which event the front panel doe not extend across the entire front of the desk. The desk may be provided with side drawers 24 and a center drawer 26. The structure described thus far constitutes any conventional desk structure and is merely-illustrativeof a great variety of desk structures, anyone of whichmay be used.

Means for circulating air for the benefit of the occupant of the desk without disturbing the work upon the desk are incorporated into the interior of the desk, so as to be completely concealed excepting through the knee compartment. The air circulating means are mounted in the desk without mutilation of the outward appearance. This has been accomplished, as may best be seen by referring to Figure 1, by the use of abaflle or wall 30 mounted in parallel relation with respect to the panel 20. The ballle 30 extends across the knee compartment and is'provided with a vent opening 3| covered by a suitable grill 32.

This bafile 30, which is made adjustable by providing two or more sections 30b and 300, may be provided with a peripherally disposed flange portion 30a used in reenforcing the bafile and in securing the fan in position by suitable retaining means, such as screws 33. Instead of providing the baflle with a peripheral flange, this baffle could be provided with lugs or ears for receiving the screws or otherwise secured in position, as for example by the use of brackets or mounting blocks. Ears or flanges are well adapted for use in mounting metallic sheets used as bafiles. When wood, plywood, veneer or other fiat sheets are used as bafiles, other types of securing means are preferably used. The section 30b has been provided with slots 30d receivin bolts 36a.

The grill may be mounted in position by screws 31, which may also hold a bracket 38 in position. Between the grill 32 and the panel 20 is mounted afan 34 driven from a motor 36, supported upon the bracket 38, secured to the baffle 30 by the screws 31. The motor 36 i energized through leads, not shown, extending to a speed control switch 42, provided with a switch arm 44 adapted to engage one of a plurality of contact buttons 43 for controlling the speed of the electric motor. Although a switch arm 44 has been shown, any other suitable speed control switch mechanism may be used. This speed control switch arm 44 may be actuated from one position to another by the foot of the occupant of the desk. A pair of leads extend from the speed control switch 42 to an ofi-onswitch 48, used in opening and closing the motor circuit for stopping and starting the fan. This switch 48, which is used every time the fan is started and stopped, is also actuated by the foot. As may best be seen by referring to Figure 2, the switch 48 is located near the side of the knee compartment, so that the foot may be guided by the side-of the knee compartment into engagement with the switch control button 50. It is then merely necessary for the occupant to reach the foot along one side into engagement with the control button '50 to actuate the same to start or stop the fan. Suitable leads 52 connected to-a conventional electric plug 54 are used to connectthe fan motor into a suitable source of electric power.

Upon closing the switch 48 by actuating the push button 50, the fan 34 draws air from underneath the desk'up through the passage between the panel 20 and the bafile or partition wall 30, forcing the airthrough the grill 32, out through genes the opening of the knee compartment for the benefit of the occupant of the desk.

Referring to the modification disclosed in Figure 3, a conventional desk has also been shown, wherein the desk structure may be identical to that disclosed in Figure 1, as far as the desk per se is concerned. In addition thereto, th desk shown in Figure 3 includes a pair of frame members 60 and 6 2, spanning the top and the bottom respectively of the knee compartment.

-Members 60 and 62 are built into the desk and -member Ill. The bracket 68 is attached to these members in any suitable manner, as for example by screws. Due to the space bounded by the top H], the front panel 20 and the apertured wall 64 being closed, excepting for the openings in the wall or grill, it can be readily seen that the air is drawn upwardly by the fan 66 and circulated out through the knee compartment, as indicated by the arrows. This grill or partition wall 64 may be made from apertured wood, perforated sheet metal, a wire mesh screen or any other suitable material.

The switching mechanism 10 is located on one side of the knee compartment underneath the drawer 26, so as to be in easy reach of the occupant of the desk. This switching mechanism 10 is connected by a suitable lead 12 and a cable 14 to the electrical circuit of the motor. Details of the connections are not deemed necessary and a detailed description of the operation of the switching mechanism is not deemed necessary, as this is well known to those skilled in the art. In this modification the switch may be manually controlled and is built into the desk structure, so as to form a part thereof. Instead of a switch arm being used, as shown schematically in the drawings, a rotatable switch knob would, in all probability, be used in commercial embodiments.

In the modification disclosed in Figure 4, the guard extending across the knee compartment has been eliminated. Instead, the front panel or wall has been provided with a plurality of apertures or openings 82. panel or wall 80 and in the knee compartment is mounted an electric fan 84 fixedly attached to a pair of angle brackets 86, spanning the distance between adjacent posts l2. The fan 84 is provided with a suitable guard 88. The fan 84 and the guard 88 may be any conventional fan assembly. The fan and the brackets shown in this modification may be a part of the desk when it is sold, or it may be attached as an attachment to desks already in use or in production. If it is incorporated into a desk that is in use or in production, it is then necessary to cut or drill holes in the front panel for the circulation of the air.

The fan is so mounted that it circulates air from the outside of the desk through the apertured wall 80 into the knee compartment. The fan is housed within the knee compartment.

By directing the air outwardly through the knee compartment, the Work upon the desk is not disturbed; but the occupant derives the full benefit of the circulating air. Furthermore, by draw ing the air upwardly underthe desk, the occupant derives the benefit of the air near the floor, which is the coolest air available. By this ar- To the rear of the rangement, the fan and the bafile or wall are absolutely concealed from view from the front of the desk. Excepting in very small desks, the fan, together with the baffle or wall associated therewith, utilizes space that is normally waste space which has no useful purpose.

The baffle or wall and the fan may be inserted into a conventional desk already in use, or may be built into the desk at the factory. The desk and baifie or wall may be removably mounted, so that if desired, the fan and the baffie or wall may be removed during winter months. When the fan is again needed, it may be inserted into position. The switch may be conveniently located so as to control the fan without the occupant leaving the desk.

Although the preferred embodiment discloses a fan attached to a baffle or wall mounted in the knee compartment, the fan need not necessarily be mounted upon a baflie or wall and it need not necessarily be associated with a baflie or. wall. It could be mounted upon a grill or any other suitable support, either in the front part of the knee compartment or to one side thereof, as for example, in part of the space normally occupied by drawers. The air need not necessarily be directed outwardly through the knee compartment. The fan could be mounted at any adjustable angle, so as to direct the air in any direction desired. Likewise, the fan could be adjustably mounted either with or without oscillating mechanism to meet the particular demands.

If one employee desires to use his fan, he may do so, without subjecting others to the breeze. This permits individual use of fans independently of the desires of others.

Although the preferred modification of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A desk-fan combination including a desk having a knee compartment, said desk having a panel along the front thereof arranged in spaced relation from the floor, an apertured partition wall extending across the knee compartment in parallel relation with respect to the panel, said partition wall having an air circulating passage, an electric fan mounted upon the partition wall for circulating air through the air passage, speed control mechanism for the fan, said speed control mechanism being mounted upon the partition wall, and switching means for starting and stopping the fan, said switching means being mounted upon the partition wall adjacent the lower edge thereof.

2. A desk-fan combination including a desk having a knee compartment, a partition wall extending across the knee compartment in parallel relation with respect to the front side of the desk, said partition wall having an air circulating passage, an electric fan mounted upon the partition wall for circulating air through the air passage, speed control mechanism for the fan, said speed control mechanism being mounted upon the partition wall, and switching means for starting and stopping the fan, said switching means being mounted upon the partition wall adjacent the lower edge thereof.

3. A desk-fan combination including a desk having a knee compartment, said desk having a panel along the front thereof arranged in spaced relation from the floor, an apertured partition wall extending across the knee compartment in spaced relation with respect to the front panel, said partition wall being apertured to form an air circulating passage, an electric fan, means for permanently mounting the motor of the electric fan between the partition wall and the panel so that the electric fan circulates the air between the partition wall and the panel and through the air passage into the knee compartment, switching means for starting and stopping the electric fan, said switching means being mounted upon the desk in easy reach of the occupant of the desk.

4. A desk-fan combination including a desk having a knee compartment, said desk including an apertured wall extending across the knee compartment, the apertures in said wall forming an air circulating passage, an electric fan housed in the knee compartment, bracket means permanently attached to said desk for supporting the motor of the electric fan so that it forces air through the apertured wall, switching means for starting and stopping said electric fan, and means for mounting said switching means upon the desk in easy reach of the occupant thereof.

5. A desk-fan combination including a desk having a knee compartment, said desk including an apertured wall extending across the knee compartment, the apertures in said wall forming an air circulating passage, an electric fan housed in the knee compartment, means for mounting the motor of the electric fan, said means permanently attaching the motor of the electric fan to the desk, said fan when operating circulating air which passes into the knee compartment, switching means for starting and stopping said electric fan, and means for mounting said switching means upon the desk in easy reach of the occupant thereof.

WALTER A. SPEAR. 

